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Monday, March 4, 2013

Aide-on-Loan

"Of course, sir," Jorge said numbly, still a little shocked from my sudden, urgent presence. "Where is it that you'd like to go?"

"I need to speak to General Gavsot," I explained quickly. "He says he's just outside the outer edge of sector 248 in the Department of Torture."

"And you can't teleport there?" he said quizzically.

I shook my head impetuously. "No, I can only teleport to places I've been before. Can we hurry this along? I need to get there now."

"Of course," he assured me. "You'd probably want to take a shuttle from the barracks. Have you been to the barracks?"

"No," I said curtly.

"How about the Department of Enforcement?" he asked. "That's pretty close to the barracks."

"Yes, I've been there."

"Wonderful," he replied in a smooth, businesslike tone. He leaned forward and pressed an intercom on his desk. "Nuver, can you send in Wyver, please?"

After a quick confirmation from the other end of the line, the door to Jorge's office opened and Wyver, the same demon who'd informed us of the plot to ambush my funeral, entered the room. I wondered if he'd been in on the conspiracy to overthrow me while I was absent from Hell.

"Sir?" Wyver said expectantly. It seemed he was talking to Jorge. He didn't even acknowledge me.

"Wyver, the Devil is going to teleport the two of you to the Department of Enforcement," Jorge explained. He had a very authoritative, measured quality to his voice. He was a natural leader, and, it would seem, an adept delegator. "You are to guide him as quickly as possible to the shuttles leaving from the barracks. The two of you will board a shuttle and you will take him to the outer edge of sector 248 in the Department of Torture and anywhere else he should need to go after that."

Wyver nodded to signify his understanding of his responsibilities. Jorge turned to me. "Sir, you now have an aide-on-loan. Let me know if you need anything else."